Ár Ré presidential primaries (4085 - 4100)
Ár Ré held presidential primaries from the year 4085 to 4100 prior to presidential elections where the incumbent was not running. Most presidential primaries in this period were contested virtually unopposed. Procedure Ár Ré presidential candidate incumbents could contest as many elections consecutively until they wish to "withdraw their candidacy", that is, to no longer contest the next election. When this occurs, the Executive will call a presidential primary to elect a new presidential candidate to contest the upcoming presidential election, and all subsequent presidential elections until he/she chooses to withdraw. The Executive will open nominations up to all party members. All party members are eligible to vote - if the number of registered electors is less than 100,000, random party members will be automatically registered as electors and are required to vote, or have their party membership revoked. September 4085 primaries The primaries for the election of September 4085 were the first ever to be held for Ár Ré. Alexander Magnum III, who was elected as Leader of Ár Ré in the inaugural leadership elections earlier that year, ran for the September 4085 primaries and was contested unopposed. Background As Ár Ré had just been formed and there was no presidential candidate incumbent, a presidential primary was automatically called as stated by the Constitution to elect a candidate for the upcoming elections of September 4085, and all subsequent elections if the candidate wishes to contest again. This presidential primary is unique in that it was held entirely on the same day of the special Party Conference used to elect the party's Leader. Hence, all nominations had to be submitted on that day and that day only. Alexander Magnum III, recently elected as Leader of Ár Ré, announced that he will be seeking the candidacy at 9.00am on the day the primary was to be held. A vote by acclamation was held for nominations to close and the primary to proceed - this was passed nearly unanimously. As there were no other candidates contesting the primary, Alexander Magnum III won by default (walkover). Aftermath In the presidential elections of September 4085, Alexander Magnum III came in dead last in fourth place, at only 10.04%. While this was a stunning result for a new party, it proved that Alexander Magnum III, who was the President of Kirlawa from 4059 to 4080, had waned in popularity and was no longer in favour by the voters. After his defeat, he announced that he was to withdraw his candidacy for the subsequent presidential election, sparking a new presidential primary to be held in 4089. March 4089 primaries The primaries for the March 4089 elections were held in January 4089. Benedict Cambridge won the elections virtually unopposed, receiving 97.8% of all votes cast. The election was conducted solely by postal ballots. Background With Alexander Magnum III withdrawing his candidacy for the post of President, a new presidential primary was called for January 4089. Nominations were open and there were two eligible candidates: Benedict Cambridge, a well-known figure within Ár Ré's spiritual predecessor the Conservative Party of Kirlawa, and Austin MacPearson. Three other candidates also tried to apply but failed to submit their nomination papers by the deadline. Aftermath Benedict Cambridge would go on to become the first President of Kirlawa from Ár Ré and serve for one term. He announced prior to the 4092 elections that he would not be standing again as Ár Ré's presidential candidate, effectively withdrawing his nomination and resulting in a new presidential primary held in 4092. September 4092 primaries The presidential primaries of September 4092 were held from January 4092 to July 4092. Gisela Guinness won the primary without any serious contender, coming in at 94.2%. Background With Benedict Cambridge not running for a second term as President of Kirlawa, a presidential primary was called for the elections of September 4092. Initially, candidates touted to run for the primary included Gisela Guinness, Paisley McIntyre, Rebecca Shimmerman and Alexander Magnum III. By the nomination deadline, only one out of the four - Gisela Guinness - filed his/her nomination papers. Five other candidates also participated in the primary, and three others attempted to file their papers but were deemed invalid, ineligible or missed the deadline. Aftermath Gisela Guinness won the primary with 94.2% of the vote. Due to the high number of candidates, her vote share was eroded as compared to her predecessor and successor. She would go on to be elected as Ár Ré's first female President of Kirlawa in the September 4092 elections. Before the next elections were to be held, Gisela Guinness died of old age, effectively triggering a new presidential primary. January 4095 primaries The presidential primaries of January 4095 were held from November 4094 to December 4094. Paisley McIntyre won the primaries without any serious contender, coming in at 96.5%. Background Towards the end of her presidential term, Gisela Guinness, the incumbent President of Kirlawa elected from Ár Ré, passed away due to old age. Constitutionally speaking, this rendered her application for the Ár Ré presidential nomination as "invalid", hence triggering a new presidential primary. Paisley McIntyre announced that he would run; four other candidates participated in the race and one other attempted to file her nomination papers but they were declared invalid. This particular primary was considerably shorter than the others due to the sudden nature by which it was announced, as it was assumed that Gisela Guinness would contest again. Aftermath Paisley McIntyre decisively won the nomination with 96.6% of the vote and would be elected as the 3rd Ár Ré President of Kirlawa. He announced during his presidential term that he would not contest the subsequent election, thereby triggering another presidential primary to be held for the July 4098 elections. July 4098 primaries The presidential primaries of July 4098 were held from January 4098 to June 4098. Rebecca Shimmerman won the primaries with 91.1% of the vote. 102,678 votes were cast in this election, the first time more than 100,000 ballots were cast. Background With Paisley McIntyre announcing that he was not running for a second term as President of Kirlawa, a new presidential primary was called for the July 4098 elections, the last in the century. Rebecca Shimmerman announced her candidacy first and filed her nomination papers successfully - this was followed by seven others. Two people attempted to file nomination papers but were unsuccessful. Aftermath Rebecca Shimmerman won the nomination with a considerably reduced share of the vote from her counterparts, owing to the large number of candidates in the race. It was the first presidential primary where over 100,000 votes were cast, hence the constitutional mechanism for "quenching" votes to 100,000 went unused for the first time. Rebecca Shimmerman would not go on to win the Presidency in the 4098 elections, but she announced that she intended to run for subsequent presidential elections, hence no presidential primary will be called for the subsequent election for the first time in Ár Ré's history.